'No friend of the UK!' Starmer slammed for 'running to Macron' to solve migrant crisis
Keir Starmer has been warned against "running off to Macron" to solve the migrant crisis
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Keir Starmer has been criticised for "running off to Macron" to solve the migrant crisis, as the Leader of the Opposition gears up for a tete-a-tete with the French President.
Emmanuel Macron will host Starmer at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday.
It represents a significant break with protocol, as Macron generally only holds meetings with opposition leaders from his own "political family", such as those belonging to his European Renew group.
The French government said they agreed to the meeting claiming that it is important for Starmer to "test" French reactions to Labour policies.
Macron generally only holds meetings with opposition leaders from his own "political family"
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The meeting comes just days after the Labour leader unveiled his new plan to tackle illegal migration, which will involve a cross-border approach to tackling the gangs.
He said he is planning to seek an EU-wide returns agreement for asylum seekers who arrive in Britain. This could involve the UK agreeing to a quota of migrants it will be forced to accept from the EU each year.
But warning Starmer against cosying up to France, Ben Habib said: "I think it's curious that a British prospective Prime Minister feels unable to control his borders, control the borders of the country.
"It is arguably the most important job they have.
"For him to basically be going off to France and aggregating that responsibility to the EU shows we dont have the political will to do that ourselves."
He continued: "This is an EU created problme. There are 330,000 migrants who enter the EU every year because Greece, Montenegro and Italy are not doing their job.
"They need to be getting in the sea and stopping the boats before they get into Europe.
"For us to be rushing off to Europe beggars belief - we have to act unilaterally."
"If we have to put our own Navy in the water, that is our sovereign right.
"If we have to put our covert operatives into Europe to find out who these people smugglers are, rather than going down traditional diplomatic routes, do it. That's what MI6 is all about.
"For god's sake don't go running to Macron."
In his first significant intervention on the issue of migration, Starmer said he would expand the use of serious crime prevention orders, which can be used to restrict the movement of individuals and freeze assets.
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In his first significant intervention on the issue of migration, Starmer said he would expand the use of serious crime prevention orders
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Unlike normal sentencing, the penalties can be applied to suspects before they have been convicted.
The Labour leader promised to expand the use of serious crime prevention orders, which can be used to restrict the movement of individuals and freeze assets.
Starmer explained: "They’ve been used, these powers, for terrorism, for drug trafficking, but they’ve never been used for serious, organised immigration crime.
"My own view is that they should be used for that."